Nicked
by Trebla
Summary: Rebecca's mp3 player is missing...again. Only two people know its whereabouts, and Lucy certainly isn't telling. Based upon the emails found in AC:B.


welp. i needed to write some more.

hence the reason for this.

and it's a request, as well, which is good.

lovely girl, Kaitlyn. allow me to give her some AC lovin' for her troubles.

* * *

><p>"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck, shit, balls and tits!"<p>

Lucy raised a brow. "Problem, Rebecca?"

The brunette popped her head up over her desk, her harried expression clearly answering Lucy's question. She was currently kneeling on the ground, shuffling through the filing cabinets sitting next to the Animus 2.0 and crouching to peer underneath them.

"I can't find my mp3 player!" she complained, straightening up and brushing the dirt off her jeans. "It's been missing for three goddamn days, and I'm getting pissed."

"I can see that," Lucy agreed calmly. "Did you check your pockets?"

The blonde merely received a disparaging look for her question, which Lucy shrugged off, the way she did with most of Rebecca's responses. "Just checking," she said amicably, turning back to her work.

Rebecca stood in the middle of the room, impatiently tapping her foot and glaring around. "Fuck it, I'm going outside," she declared abruptly, striding out of the room. Lucy opened her mouth to stop Rebecca from leaving, but changed her mind. Rebecca probably needed a few minutes to pull herself back together again, and in the meantime, she might as well have a poke around, to see if she could find the stupid music player.

"If she weren't so attached to her stupid techno, then maybe we'd actually get some work done," Lucy grumbled, poking around halfheartedly behind the imposing Assassin statues. She wasn't really expecting to find the mp3 player. She barely even knew what it looked like, only that it was constantly plugged into Rebecca's ears at every possible moment, except when the woman was shoving it into Shaun's face, demanding he listen to this song or that album...

Lucy paused, a new thought entering her mind. Would he really...? There was nothing for it but to find out for herself. Desmond and Shaun were out on a supply run, so she was currently alone. Casting a glance toward the Sanctuary door, Lucy stepped over to where Shaun's sleeping bag lay. Glancing around one last time, she reached down and lifted the corner of the sleeping bag.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I feel a bit better now. The boys are bringing back coffee, right?" Rebecca's voice preceded her enterance into the Sanctuary. She found Lucy sitting at her desk where she'd been before, diligently tapping away at her keyboard.<p>

"Jeez, will you take a break, for once?" Rebecca shook her head and sat down in her desk chair, putting her feet up on her desk. "Hey...you wouldn't have happened to-"

"Nope."

Rebecca sighed and slumped in her chair. "Thought not. If you see it, though, lemme know, okay?"

"Yup." Lucy kept her face carefully hidden behind her computer, where a slow grin was forming. She wondered how long it would be until Shaun's game was up. Whenever it was, she certainly wasn't going to blow the secret.

* * *

><p>It was late, but Shaun wasn't asleep. He felt like a kid again, hiding under the blankets with a flashlight so his parents wouldn't know that he was up past his bedtime. His head was buried under the covers of his sleeping bag, earphones plugged in and sweet, sweet music pouring into his brain.<p>

He had no music player of his own, save an unfortunate CD player that did more skipping than playing, and so, had begun to make a habit of nicking Rebecca's when she wasn't paying attention. Her music player wasn't exactly state-of-the-art, but it was certainly better than nothing. Besides, it had good music on it, and beggars couldn't be choosers.

In a small place in Shaun's brain that he frequently tried in vain to shut up, however, he was offered another, much more ridiculous reason for the continuous theft. He would never, ever, in a million years, admit it out loud, but he liked the idea of holding something that belonged to Rebecca. It made him feel...safe, somehow. He tried not to think about it too much. Still, the feeling persisted.

Rebecca had looked particularly stressed today. She kept swearing under her breath, and was more irritable than usual. Shaun figured she was probably at her wit's end about losing her mp3, and felt a pang of guilt. He did honestly mean to return it soon...he just kept falling asleep while listening to it, and it wasn't like he could just slip it back into her bag while they were all awake and working.

Letting out a sigh, Shaun poked his head out from underneath the covers and scanned the room for any sign of Rebecca. Her sleeping bag was empty, meaning that it was her turn on the watch. Gathering his courage, Shaun shut down the music player and stuffed it in his pocket. Grabbing up his glasses and settling them on his nose, the Brit prepared himself for what was sure to be the tongue-lashing of his life.

Rebecca appeared as though she had fallen asleep in her chair. Her mouth was slightly slack, and a quiet snore issued from the depths of her throat. Raising an eyebrow, Shaun stopped a few steps away, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of a Rebecca At Rest. His suspicions about Rebecca not getting enough sleep were definitely confirmed by this display. The pang of guilt was stronger this time, now that he knew it was well-deserved.

He hated to disturb her, but Shaun figured the outcomes would be for the best in the long run. Plus, no one was currently watching the Sanctuary, with her snoozing away in her folding chair.

Shaun put his lips to Rebecca's ear. "Rebecca. Rebecca, wake up."

She came to slowly, brown eyes blinking owlishly as she was roused from unconsciousness. "What?" she asked, barely able to summon the energy to frown at him in irritation. Shaun felt a wave of unexpected affection, but he pushed it aside for the moment. Instead, he wordlessly held out the mp3 player in his hand, watching warily for her reaction.

Rebecca's eyes widened. Then, suddenly, she had flown out of the chair and into his arms, hugging him tightly. Shaun let out a rather unmanly gasp, but brought himself back under control, rather awkwardly putting his arms around the small woman in return.

"Thank you! Where did you find it?" Rebecca asked at last, releasing him. Her eyes were shining with delight, and Shaun quailed inside at the thought of the rage that was about to follow.

"I...erm, my nightstand," he offered weakly.

She froze for a moment, and Shaun poised himself to run. Instead of a torrent of hormonal rage, however, Rebecca's face softened into a smile, and she looked down at the mp3 player thoughtfully.

"Y'know, if you'd wanted to listen to it, you should've just asked," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. Shaun shuffled uncomfortably, torn between relief and embarrassment.

"Well, what if I wanted to listen to it together?" he blurted.

Rebecca looked startled for a moment. Then, a slightly more mischievous expression made its way across her features.

"I think I'd like that," she said, grinning at Shaun. "Can you stay up until my shift is over?"

All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the atmosphere for a moment. Shaun fought for composure. "Absolutely," he said.


End file.
